Ravenea xerophila

Anivona Palm

One of the strangest of all palms, this species from the arid regions
of S-Madagascar develops a large, water-storing root system. With its
grey, V-shaped and recurving leaves it has some resemblance to species
of Butia. John Dransfield and Henk Beentje in their comprehensive The
Palms of Madagascar write: One of the rarest Ravenea species.
This would probably be an excellent species for cultivation, as it grows
in very dry sites, and is an extraordinarily beautiful palm. The latin
name means dry-loving. In a well drained soil it will
grow in warm temperate as well as in tropical regions.

... are easy to germinate and need up to 3 months to sprout. Easy to germinate using the 'baggie' method. Used just moist coco fibre and stored outside on my veranda where temperatures vary between 32 and 40c during the day. So far I have had about 50% success with this palm seed after 7 weeks. Submitted on 20/06/2010 by Nick C - Vietnam

... are of excellent ornamental value In Porto in Portugal they need little care and grow slow.beautifull ravenea that resembles a pseudophoenix sp, despite tolerating bone dry conditions it will love good water when warm an will reward you with a very pleasant growth rate. help protecting the species and cultivate some, many species were saved from extinction this way... Submitted on 06/06/2010 by one of our visitors

...very easy to germinate and need up to 1 month to
sprout.
Quite less then a month infact. I Received 100 Ravenea xerophila on 05/12/04. I soaked them in 1 gal of water
to 1 oz fungicide for 12 hrs. I put the seeds in sterilized peat after a 1 hour drying period on 05/13/04. Yesterday
on 05/17/04, only 4 days later, I already have had 10% germination (10 seeds).Thank you Toby. I sure appreciate
the time and effort you put into making sure that Rarepalmseeds.com supplies the best quality seeds on the market.
Signed, your friend and loyal customer David.Submitted on 19/05/2004 by David Cook david.cook@honeywell.com

...easy to germinate and need up
to 3 months to sprout.
Seeds placed in plastic bag with pit+sand at 25-30°C. 65% germination
within 2 months.4 leaves 9 months after sowing, 20 cm. Submitted on 13/04/2002 by Ted W. Baer tedwbaer@urbanet.ch

...very easy to germinate and need
up to 1 month to sprout.
Very easily germinated seed but also very prone to fungal disease.
Soak for a day in fresh water with some fungicide added. Some seeds
will germinate during this time!Other seeds perish quickly after
this due to fungal growth and temperature does not seem to be a
feature as long as it above 21C (70F)Submitted by Adam St.Clair stclair2@bigpond.com

...very easy to germinate and need
up to 1 month to sprout.
I took the seeds in an small greenhouse for rooms. On the bottom,
there was a small electric pad for flowers. Between both I laid
an isolation stuff. All that I filled with an anorganic earth" -
small mineral stones and put the seeds on it. On the bottom of the
greenhouseSubmitted by there was always 2 cm of water. When the days were
sunny I
switched of the electric pad. Every day

...very easy to germinate and need
up to 1 month to sprout.
9 out of 10 then germinated (cocohum in plastic bags, room temperature)Submitted by Florian Auer auer@m-otion.at

In lisboa in portugal they need little care and grow very slow.it likes shade when young,plants in the sun tend to get burn yelowing, they stand cold as long as they are in the dry sideSubmitted on 03/10/2010 by joao capelo

If you wish to read more on palm cultivation, we highly recommend Ornamental Palm Horticulture
by Timothy K. Broschat and Alan W. Meerow, available in our bookshop.

Ratings and comments reflect individual experiences and the views of our visitors. They do not necessarily describe the most
appropriate methods, nor are they necessarily valid for all seeds or plants of this species. Germination and plant cultivation
success depends on many different factors; nevertheless, these experiences will hopefully aid you in your effort to get the
best germination results from our seeds and the best growth results from your plants.

We recommend:

The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palmsby Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft, Scott Zona 2nd edition
Completely revised and updated Hardcover - 528 pages
11 x 8.5 inches Our rating:Suitable for: all The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms is the definitive account of all palms that can be grown for ornamental and economic use. Palms are often underutilized as a result of their unfamiliarity—even to tropical gardeners. To help introduce these valuable plants to a new audience, the authors have exhaustively documented every genus in the palm family.
825 species are described in detail, including cold hardiness, water needs, height, and any special requirements. Generously illustrated with more than 900 photos, including photos of several palm species that have never before appeared in a general encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms is as valuable as an identification guide as it is a practical handbook. Interesting snippets of history, ethnobotany, and biology inform the text and make this a lively catalog of these remarkable plants.